Ascendancy
by OneFan2RuleThemAll
Summary: Aquila is the daughter of... well, she doesn't rightly know. She's been raised by Lor San Tekka most of her life, training up in her Force abilities. When Resistance pilot Poe Dameron shows up, asking for the map to Luke Skywalker, Aquila knows a big adventure is staring - she just doesn't know how big. (Not a Romance. Rated T for Violence).
1. Attack on Jakku

**A/N: Hey there! Abby May here with a new story! After seeing The Last Jedi (VIII) today, I decided to do a New Trilogy fanfiction. I'm not quite sure exactly where it's going to go, but I will definitely be weaving my OC Aquila deep into the plot. Also, any underlined words will have definitions at the bottom.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas and I'm not Disney. So I don't own anything or anyone except for Aquila and any other original characters I might put into this story in the future. If I did own these things, why would I be writing fanfiction?...**

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Poe Dameron sat in the small hut of Lor San Tekka on the dusty and unforgivingly hot planet of Jakku. Across the tiny table from him was the legendary explorer himself – the one who helped Skywalker find old Jedi texts after the battle of Endor. A girl, no older than seventeen, set a small plate in front of him and Tekka.

"Is that enough, Tutela?" she said, her brownish-red hair swinging behind her as she turned.

"Quite enough, thank you, Aquila," the old man said with a smile. The girl nodded and, with a curious glance toward Poe, grabbed a plate of food for herself, which she ate secluded in the corner.

"Now," Lor San Tekka said, shifting in his chair. "What makes you think I have the map to Luke Skywalker?"

"General Organa sent me, Sir," Poe replied immediately. "She says you helped Skywalker find ancient Jedi texts after the Battle of Endor."

Tekka sent a glanced toward the girl, apparently named Aquila, who ever so slightly nodded. He turned back to Poe. "And, tell me, why did she send you?" he asked, not suspiciously.

"Well, I like to think it's because I'm her best pilot," Poe said, obviously not caring if that came out a bit prideful.

Tekka grunted with a smile. "Ah, I suppose that's why," he said, seeming to know something Poe didn't. He turned to a chest behind him, Aquila turning her head to watch him. Out of this chest, the old man pulled a small, leather pouch. Aquila's eyes widened. "This will begin to make things right. I've traveled too far, and seen too much, to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force," Lor San Tekka said, closing Poe's hand around the leather pouch.

Poe smiled victoriously. "Well, thanks to you, we have a chance. The General's been after this for a long time."

" _The General_ ," Tekka repeated with a chuckle. "To me, she's royalty."

Before anyone could say anything else, a small and cute-looking droid burst in through the "door." It beeped frantically. Poe stood up. "We've got company," he said quietly.

Poe and Tekka rushed outside, Aquila following them at a distance. "You have to hide," Poe said, lowering his quadnoculars.

"You have to leave," Tekka replied. "Go!" He paused for a heartbeat. "And take Aquila with you." At her name, the girl's eyes widened.

Poe hesitated. "I hardly-"

"Go!" Tekka said, his voice commanding.

Dameron, Aquila, and the droid, BB-8, rushed off in the direction of Poe's X-Wing. Aquila couldn't help but stare at the First Order transports that were landing on the edge of the little village – her village.

Two laser blasts hit the X-Wing, effectively shutting it down. Angered, Poe turned and fired his blasters at the two Stormtroopers. More and more troops were rushing from the transports. The man turned and knelt down to BB-8. "You take this," he said. "It's safer with you than it is with me. I'll come back for you. Go!" He turned to Aquila. "You go with him."

The girl's gaze darkened. "I have a better chance here than out in the wilds of Jakku," she snapped, her eyes finding Tekka amongst the chaos. Poe began firing his blaster again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aquila reach out her right arm, her eyes closed. Suddenly, blaster bolts being shot by Stormtroopers started hitting the very same Stormtroopers.

Then, a rather large shuttle set down amidst the madness. Immediately, a black-clothed figure stormed down the ramp. He stopped for a second, glancing curiously in the direction of the rock Poe and Aquila were hiding behind. He then saw Lor San Tekka and his attention turned. "Look how old you've become," the figure said to him.

"Something far worse has happened to you," Tekka replied.

"You know what I've come for."

"I know where you come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren."

Kylo Ren was instantly becoming frustrated. "The map to Skywalker. We know you found it. And now you're going to give it to the First Order."

"The First Order rose from the dark side... you did not," San Tekka said boldly.

"I'll show you the Dark Side," Kylo Ren spat.

"You may try. But you can never deny the truth – that is your family."

Suddenly, Kylo Ren ignited an oddly-designed red lightsaber sliced Lor San Tekka with it. Aquila covered her mouth so that she might not scream. Poe dashed out from behind the rock and fired a blaster bolt at Ren, who instantly turned around and froze it in the air and apparently, Poe.

Aquila struggled to stay quiet as two Stormtroopers rushed over and grabbed Poe. They dragged him over to Kylo Ren and kicked him down onto the ground. Ren bent down to study Poe. "So who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?" Poe asked quietly.

"The old man gave it to you," Ren said.

Poe gestured with his head toward Kylo Ren's mask. "It's very hard to understand you with all the… apparatus."

"Search him," Ren said to the two Stormtroopers, who immediately obeyed and did a brutal pat down.

"Nothing, Sir," they reported.

"Put him on board," Ren said simply.

When she saw Poe being dragged away, Aquila couldn't take it anymore. "NO!" she shouted, thrusting her hand forward in an attempted Force Push. It only succeeded in making Kylo Ren stumble backward a bit. He retaliated with whatever he used on Poe – and Aquila quickly found that she couldn't move.

She struggled with all her might but didn't succeed in breaking free. "Let me go, Malus," she said fiercely. Ren ignored her as four Stormtroopers rushed toward her and grabbed her rather forcefully.

"Perhaps if the other won't tell us where the map is, you will," he said.

"Why don't you find a map to the map?" Aquila replied sarcastically.

Ren studied her up and down for a second, ignoring her words. Then, silently, he turned and started going toward his own ship. "You will release me," she said quietly to the Stormtroopers around her.

"What?" one of them said.

Aquila calmed her mind best she could. "You will release me," she tried again.

All of the stormtroopers' postures straightened, but before they could release her, Aquila felt a powerful force (pun not intended) in her brain. Immense pain flooded her senses as she realized Kylo Ren had turned back toward her. Then he made an upward flick with his hand and Aquila felt herself drop to the ground before she blacked out.

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Defined Words:

Tutela - protector, guardian

Malus - evil, wicked


	2. Kylo Ren

**A/N: Thank you for five followers! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter in which Aquila gets to show her sarcastic side.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, sadly. If I did, Jar Jar Binks would not exist. Therefore, I only own my original characters.**

Aquila's eyes shot open and her body lurched forward, only to be stopped by cold metal. Instantly, she found that she was in a First Order cell in an odd-looking, metal chair. She had a pounding headache that made the little bit of light unbearable.

Suddenly, she was very aware she was being watched. Blinking, her eyes focused on the figure of Kylo Ren, who was standing a few feet away to her side. "May I help you?" she spat sarcastically.

Ren ignored her. "A Force user… these days," he said. "Unusual. Especially one who uses their abilities openly."

Aquila tried to shrug but found that she couldn't. "I have no reason to hide my powers," she said stubbornly. "I'm not afraid of people – Fallen Jedi – like you." She could imagine that whoever Kylo Ren was behind that mask was smirking.

"Yes you are," he said calmly. "You can hide nothing from me. I can see into your mind and I can sense your fear."

"You're like a dog, then, well done," Aquila responded sharply.

"What did that scum do with that map?" he questioned, stepping forward suddenly.

Aquila flinched. "He broke it," she said. "He smashed it when you arrived so that no one could have it."

"Do I… look like I know nothing?" Ren asked, his anger rising.

"I dunno. Kinda. Yeah, I'd say so," Aquila said, aware that she was getting on very unsafe ground at the moment.

"What did he do with the map?" he asked fiercely, stepping forward again.

Aquila sputtered, "He gave it to a dog – like you – who ate it? No? He… he never got it? Tekka never gave it to him? Not that either? Um, he gave it to me and I have it right now and if you let me go, I'll give it to you?"

Kylo Ren, apparently bored with the girl, whirled around and left her cell, his cape fluttering behind him.

Aquila opened her eyes. "Am I not dead?" she said aloud. She touched her thighs – the only thing she could physically touch. "I'm not dead!" When she was sure no one else was in earshot, Aquila let out a groan. She tended to kick into sarcastic-mode when she was in danger and it often seemed to get her into only more danger. It was her greatest weakness, Lor San Tekka had always told her. It was one of the few things she found that she couldn't control.

Twenty minutes later – a long, twenty minutes later – the door opened again. To her surprise, it wasn't Kylo Ren or Stormtroopers. Well, one Stormtrooper and…

"Dameron?" Aquila asked, surprised.

"One and only," Poe said, unlocking the cuffs to the chair. "Let's go."

"What's going on exactly?" Aquila asked.

"We're escaping," Poe replied. "This kind sir is helping us out. We're gonna steal a TIE."

"A TIE?" she repeated, her jaw dropping in surprise as the three ran down a long, empty corridor.

"Yeah, you know, Twin-Ion Eng-" Poe started.

"I know what a TIE is," she cut him off. "I just don't know how you plan on getting one."

"I dunno either," the Stormtrooper said, drawing his blaster. "Now, you two, remember, look like you're just being transported."

"Look miserable – not hard," Aquila said.

The Stormtrooper led them through the base. "Stay calm, stay calm," he muttered.

"I am calm," Poe replied.

"I was talking to myself," the Stormtrooper said.

"Oh, obviously," Aquila deadpanned, trying her hardest not to gawk at the sheer scale of the base.

"Now!" the trooper said, tugging Aquila and Poe to follow him toward a line of TIE fighters.

"Hey, where are you going?" the Stormtrooper asked as Aquila went to climb into a separate tie fighter.

"There's only two seats per TIE, Frater," Aquila said. "I can fly on my own."

"But-"

"Two TIEs are easier to hit than one," Dameron interrupted, his head popping up out of the TIE fighter. "C'mon. You can hold on to the handrails." Giving in, Aquila followed the nameless Stormtrooper and Poe into the small fighter. "There are the handrails," the pilot said gesturing up. "You'll want to hold on tight."

Aquila nodded wordlessly.

"Can you shoot?" Poe asked.

"Blasters I can," the trooper replied, strapping himself into a seat.

Poe briefly (and very vaguely, in Aquila's opinion) explained to the Stormtrooper how to work the shooting mechanism.

Aquila took in a deep breath. _Here we go._

Frater - brother (as in good friend, brother in spirit)


	3. Not Yet

**A/N: *meekly comes out from hiding* Heeeeeeeey guys… it has been ages since I updated this story and this is a short chapter. Before you start throwing things at me, I just want to explain that after nearly two years straight of nothing but Star Wars geekdom, I needed a break** _ **and**_ **I got into the Marvel fandom… right after I started this story. So this story will have very sporadic updates and I'm sorry. If you're interested in Marvel stuff, go check out my other story, Sharpshot, which I should be updating more regularly.**

 **Disclaimer: This is not the owner you are looking for. I do not own Star Wars. I only own Aquila.**

The TIE fighter sprung to life as it flew toward the exit of the bay, only to be yanked back by a tether. "Oh great, we're going to die," Aquila muttered.

"I can fix it!" Poe exclaimed, moving the TIE around as much as he could.

Several Stormtroopers were shooting at them from the ground, the lasers ricocheting off the small fighter. A large bolt came from one of the guns, rocketing toward them. Poe jerked the TIE around just in the nick of time so that the bolt hit the tether, setting them free.

"Hang on!" Poe said loudly, grinning. "Woah! This thing really moves!"

"Yeah, well _move_ this thing outta here!" Aquila called, her a cold feeling settling in the bottom of her stomach as the TIE fighter zoomed around under the belly of the massive ship above them.

"We gotta take out as many of these guns as we can!" Poe shouted loudly over the whine of the engines. "Or we're not getting very far."

"Right. Right," the Stormtrooper murmured, drips of sweat on his forehead.

"What's your name by the way?" Poe asked.

"FN-2187," the other man answered immediately.

Aquila bit her lip. This wasn't exactly the best time for introductions.

"FN… what?" the Resistance pilot spluttered, obviously confused.

"It's the only name they ever gave me," FN shrugged.

"Well, I ain't using it!" Poe thought for a moment. "FN, huh? Finn. I'm gonna call you Finn."

"Finn!" the Stormtrooper, er, Finn, exclaimed happily. "Finn! I like that!"

"I'm Aquila," she introduced just loudly enough to be heard over the engines.

Before Finn could respond, Dameron called out, "We're coming up on the central guns!"

"Okay," Finn said, more to himself than Poe or Aquila. "Okay."

Aquila thought for a second she was going to throw up at that crazy pilot spun the TIE around, letting newly-named Finn blast it was barrage of laser bolts. The guns exploded in fiery glory. "DID YOU SEE THAT?" Finn shouted excitedly. "Did you see that?!"

"I saw it! I saw it!" Poe replied with a grin.

Aquila shook her head. These two were trouble.

The TIE fighter whirled toward Jakku and it was evident on Finn's face the moment he realized it. "What-what are you doing?" he gasped.

"Going back to Jakku," Poe said as if it were obvious.

"What? Jakku? We can't go back to Jakku! We need to get as far away from the First Order as we can!" the Stormtrooper exclaimed, completely freaking out.

"Relax, Frater," Aquila said quietly, though she could barely be heard, confident that Poe had a plan. Lor San Tekka – the closest thing she ever had to a father – trusted this pilot, so she should too.

"I've got to get my droid. BB unit, orange and white, one of a kind," Poe was saying.

"I don't care what color he is!" Finn yelled over him. "We can't…"

Suddenly a loud _BANG!_ was heard as one of the lasers from the First Order ship hit the TIE fighter, sending it as smoking wreckage.

Aquila was determined not to scream as the sandy surface of Jakku got nearer and nearer. She could only hope that the Force would not let her or her new companions die. This couldn't be the end of the adventure – not yet. _Please, Force, not yet._

 **Please review! Reviews should help keep me inspired to write chapters more regularly!**


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